Escaping the Mystery Hotel

"Team Leader Elizabeth, we’ve arrived at Hestbert Mansion."

"Hmm. Are you telling me that this place has already claimed three-digit casualties?"

"At the current rate, it'll reach four digits by next year."

"That's why we're here—to prevent that. Let's head in."

- Clunk!

"What was that sound?"

"Team Leader Elizabeth! The door is locked!"

"What are you talking about? Contact headquarters!"

"What is this? The signal’s gone!"

After entering the Hestbert Mansion, a buzzing noise echoed in my head, bringing back my consciousness.

Unlike the first attempt, my comrades weren’t flailing about.

Instead, the Chat Window immediately flickered.

Lee Eunsol: Capturing the first mansion.

While Eunsol captured images of the first mansion with her eyes for future "spot the difference" comparisons, I stalled for time, distracting Elizabeth by feigning confusion about the sudden loss of communication.

As expected, it didn’t take long for things to start happening.

"Ahhh!"

"Oliver? What’s going on?"

"L-look at this!"

Just as anticipated.

Clear, blood-red letters appeared on the large mirror hanging on the wall.

Go down.

Kain had suggested smashing the mirror with the writing in the first mansion, wondering if there might be an escape route behind it.

It was worth a try.

We were already prepared to fight the demon girl if necessary, and our strength was at its peak.

Kim Ahri: Seungyub, get ready by the mirror. Prepare to escape.

Park Seungyub: Yes.

Keeping an eye on Elizabeth, I aimed my gun at the mirror.

Elizabeth showed no reaction.

In fact, she seemed to be wondering why I hadn’t fired yet.

Recalling the response protocol of Administration Agents, it was a perfectly normal response to shoot and throw a grenade at anything that seemed suspicious.

The Administration Agents weren’t horror movie protagonists who explore strange places unarmed. Guns and bombs worked on over 90% of the Being of Chaos that existed on Earth.

- Bang! Crash!

With a loud noise, the mirror shattered.

“…”

There was nothing behind the mirror but an ordinary wall.

Kain’s prediction was wrong.

We couldn’t escape from the first mansion.

Only certain mansions housed an escape route.

Since there was only one exit from the first mansion, we didn’t need to decide where to go.

We headed to the basement of the mansion.

***We entered the second mansion.

As long as nothing changes, the monster in this mansion should be hiding in the carpet.

Lee Eunsol: The carpet in the living room has changed. The monster is in the carpet.

Just like before, the monster in the second mansion was in the carpet.

Now, things are really getting started.

Mooksung and Jinchul subtly moved behind Elizabeth.

It wasn’t the right time yet.

There were still a few things we needed to confirm first.

Elizabeth spoke up, "Go check out the living room."

We followed her instructions and moved toward the living room, but we avoided the carpet as much as possible, carefully surveying our surroundings.

After a brief moment, Elizabeth, clearly irritated by our hesitance, spoke again, "Stop chatting and search more thoroughly."

"Yes, Team Leader. Sorry."

"Check the floor too."

She was clearly referring to the carpet.

That was enough to confirm two things.

First, Elizabeth knew the monster’s location.

Second, she intended to eliminate Oliver along with us.

Immediately, Jinchul "accidentally" shoved Elizabeth toward the carpet.

Elizabeth was nearly paralyzed with fear, scrambling to get up while pulling out her gun!

But it was too late.

[Didn’t I tell you, Dearie? Don’t walk on the carpet with your shoes on!]

The monster leaped out from the carpet, grabbing Elizabeth by the legs—

"Shut up."

Before it could do anything, Jinchul grabbed the monster by the neck and simply yanked it out by force.

The monster’s grotesque appearance was revealed after being dragged out of the carpet.

The upper body mimicked that of an old woman, but the lower body was just a mass of writhing flesh.

Jinchul, as if it were nothing, pried the monster’s mouth open and summoned the Star, shoving it inside.

Within seconds, the monster transformed into a bizarre mix of dirt, metal, and flesh.

"Hey, Team Leader, you should be more careful."

"Cha Jinchul! That should be my line! How could you suddenly push me—"

"If It weren’t for me, you would’ve been dragged under the carpet and killed by that monster. Shouldn’t you show me some gratitude?"

"...I do appreciate that. But you should still be more careful with your actions."

"I plan to. Now, let’s deal with the most dangerous person here."

"What do you—"

- Clunk!

Jinchul immediately grabbed Elizabeth with both hands.

Mooksung rushed over, stripped her of her helmet and bulletproof vest, and Eunsol tied her to a chair with the sturdy rope we had prepared.

Of course, one person didn’t just stand idly by during all this.

"What are you all doing? What’s going on?"

Oliver, who rushed at us in shock, was subdued by Songee with just a few hand movements.

In this second attempt, we successfully subdued both NPCs.

Once the situation was under control, Songee approached.

"Ahri, what should we do with Oliver?"

"Hmm? He doesn’t seem to be on Elizabeth’s side. She wanted to feed him to the monsters just like us. But I’m not sure if we can trust him."

The others gathered around the restrained Elizabeth, murmuring among themselves.

Before entering the Cube, everyone seemed eager to torture Elizabeth, but such tasks were easier said than done.

Besides, brute force wasn’t even necessary.

"Hold her tight. I’ll need to maintain eye contact for a while."

"I’ve got her."

While Elizabeth was held in place to prevent her from closing her eyes, I stared into them for about three minutes, casting the strongest suggestion I could.

"Alright~! Now you’re ready to answer sincerely, aren’t you?"

"…"

"First question. What’s the safe way to get to the research lab?"

"What are you talking about?"

"The room with the TV, the space beyond the screen. How do you get there safely?"

"I don’t know what you’re talking about."

I briefly glanced at Elena to confirm.

Elena signaled an O, indicating that Elizabeth was telling the truth.

Elizabeth wasn’t resisting my suggestion and lying.

"Let me rephrase the question. One of my comrades is trapped somewhere. The area is all white, with people in white, researcher coats walking around. Do you know this place?"

"Are you talking about headquarters?"

"Alright. Let’s use your term, ‘headquarters’. That space beyond the TV, that’s headquarters, right?"

"Yes."

"How do you get there safely?"

"I don’t understand what you mean. There’s no danger to speak of."

Her response implied that there was no danger, leaving her puzzled as to what I was even asking.

Even she seemed frustrated with the way the conversation was going.

Songee, also frustrated, bluntly suggested, "Why not just tell her to spill everything she knows about the Cube?"

Mooksung, understanding the nature of the suggestion, intervened.

"If you ask that, she’ll just give a bunch of vague answers. You need to ask specific questions."

"Just stay quiet, everyone. Elizabeth, explain how to get to headquarters through the TV."

"You put on earplugs, turn on the TV, and walk straight ahead with your eyes closed for about 200 meters. You’ll arrive at Containment Unit 13-4 within headquarters."

…That response seems a bit odd.

The others were surprisingly happy with the simple solution.

Jinchul spoke first, "So, all we had to do was close our eyes and ears?"

Songee chuckled in disbelief.

"So simple? Wow~! I thought we’d need some super creative solution."

Elena seemed skeptical.

"But… is it really that easy? Can we really just close our eyes and be safe?"

Seungyub, however, was thrilled.

"Earplugs! Isn’t that similar to what I suggested? Whether it’s muting or using earplugs, it all works the same way! It’s all about not hearing the TV sound."

Mooksung sighed and acknowledged him.

"Yeah. Good job, good job. But it’s still strange… There’s no way such a being can be stopped just by closing your eyes."

Elena seemed confused.

"I agree with you, but Elizabeth’s words hold no lies."

Something’s off.

There was something crucial hidden in Elizabeth’s response that even she wasn’t aware of.

However, we didn’t have the luxury to ponder this.

"Noona! Ask about the demon girl! Find out what she is."

"I’ll ask, so quiet down. Elizabeth, when passing through the mansions, you eventually come across a mirror that leads outside, right?"

"Yes."

"And behind that mirror is a very powerful being, correct?"

"Are you referring to Lady Beatrix?"

"Beatrix? What is she?"

"…"

"What kind of being is she?"

[You’ve got some skill, huh? A powerful hypnotist, perhaps?]

Suddenly, the suggestion broke!

With no warning, the suggestion was broken before I could react, and Elizabeth’s entire body became translucent, contorting in a bizarre manner.

- Creak!

Her skin rippled disgustingly as if it were piano keys, and then Elizabeth suddenly displayed immense strength, tearing through the ropes and breaking free from our hold.

Jinchul immediately rushed to restrain her.

The next moment, Elizabeth’s tongue, as thick as a person’s forearm, shot out like a frog’s and lashed towards the wall where a clock was hung.

"What’s happening? Why is she suddenly attacking the wall instead of us—"

- Crash!

The wall her tongue struck collapsed, revealing a hidden button no one had noticed.

Everyone’s faces paled upon the sight of it.

She had been up to something! At that moment, I gave up on interrogating Elizabeth any further.

"Cha Jinchul! Kill her!"

Jinchul immediately snapped Elizabeth’s neck with both hands and then, feeling it wasn’t enough, he briefly summoned the Star to turn her already monstrous body into solid stone.

- Rumble! Crash!

The entire mansion began to shake.

Something terrible is about to happen.

"This way, everyone!"

We all dashed toward the back door, following Seungyub’s urgent call.

Ah, in the end, we’re following Seungyub’s lead again.

There’s no other choice now.

Let’s just hope this isn’t a trap room.

Just before the back door closed, I caught a glimpse of something monstrous crashing through the wall.

I had no desire to confirm what it was so I shut the door and ran to the next mansion.

***- Kim Ahri

"Huff, huff, huff. Is everyone okay?"

Everyone was panting heavily, but they seemed mostly fine.

Ugh! What a shame.

I had so many more questions to ask!

It’s hard to understand. We knew she had the ability to become invisible, but the power to transform into a monster?

She didn’t use such a power when she fought us in the first attempt.

And on top of all that, she broke the suggestion!

What’s going on?

Meanwhile, Oliver, who had been released from Songee’s control, was also panting nearby.

Naturally, everyone’s attention turned to Oliver.

"W-what? I’m not a spy."

Elena nodded, and after confirming, Mooksung responded calmly, "We don’t think so either. Elizabeth tried to get rid of you too."

"I didn’t realize before. I never imagined Elizabeth could be a spy? A traitor? How did you even know? And what’s all this talk about TV and headquarters?"

It was a tricky question to answer.

Since we held the advantage here, Mooksung just brushed his question off.

"Do I really need to give a detailed explanation in a place like this? I’ll explain when we get out. Do you have anything to say?"

Oliver, trembling in fear, finally replied, "If I had to say something… the only word I understood in your conversation with Elizabeth was ‘Beatrix’."

“”...!!!””

He understood the most important word?

I rushed over to him.

"What do you know? Tell us everything about Beatrix, don’t leave anything out."

Jinchul smiled warmly, placing his hand on Oliver’s shoulder.

The hand that had torn apart the granny monster still had chunks of flesh stuck to it.

"It would be in your best interest not to do anything foolish. I’m saying this for your own good."

Oliver, trembling all over, began to speak pitifully, "Beatrix, officially known as Chaotic Entity 1283, ‘Ominous Imagination’, was the greatest achievement of the Arizona branch under the leadership of Chief Researcher Han Kain. There were even talks that if the Administration could fully harness that power, it could become the ultimate weapon to protect the world. That’s why Beatrix’s rampage and the disappearance of Chief Researcher Han Kain were such tragic events…"